Icing on the Cake

After a putative perfect Harpeth River Ride Saturday and the volunteer's party Saturday night, RandoGirl and I were pretty tired Sunday morning. I slept until almost 6 am -- nearly a full hour past sunrise -- before heading out on my Lynskey to say goodbye to a few more roads.

I climbed South Berry's Chapel again, then went up Lynnwood Way and came down North Berry's Chapel. Soon, I was down in Franklin, helping RandoGirl get the tandem off the roof so we could do the Pancake Ride with our friends.

We pulled a big group for the first few miles, ramping the speed up enough to give everybody a good workout. Then we eased off and rode to Leiper's Fork with Bill and Sametta Glass on their tandem, and Jeff Bauer and Fredia Barry on Jeff's tandem.

The weather was still spectacular, and we hung out for almost half an hour under the shade of the trellis outside of Puckett's Grocery. Eventually, the single bikes all headed off for more miles or back to the ride start. Bill, Sametta, Jeff, Fredia, RandoGirl, and I were joined by Steve and Joyce Grizzle as we rolled out to Fernvale.

Bill and Sametta turned off there for home, and the rest of us headed back to Franklin and our cars. RandoGirl and I went back to Karla McVey's house to get cleaned up and packed, then joined everybody for one last long lunch at Local Taco in Brentwood. Then, I put RandoGirl on the plane for home, and drove to Atlanta to visit my mom. The next morning, I drove the rest of the way back to Naples.

Back in Naples, it was steamy and drizzly. This place is great during the winter. The riding is fast, and I've made a few friends. But being in Brentwood last week ... well, it felt like home.